You know the adage that you can judge a man by the company he keeps. With Seattle's Marshawn Lynch, you can judge a runner by the backs to whom he's compared.

For starters, try the NFL's career rushing leader.

"The only guy I would kind of compare (Lynch) to is maybe Emmitt Smith," 49ers defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said, "because Emmitt ran with power and elusiveness and slashing-type running without great speed."

OK, how about the 49ers' career rushing leader?

"Frank Gore's pretty good at the same thing" Lynch is, 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks said. "He breaks a lot of tackles as well."

"It's hard for one person to tackle them," 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith said. "They do a good job of moving their feet, so when they make contact, they keep moving. (Lynch is) in an elite group of guys who run the ball."

Since the beginning of the 2010 season, only five times has a back run for at least 100 yards against the 49ers. Lynch has done it three times, in each of the past three Seattle-S.F. meetings.

At 5-foot-11 and 215 pounds, the Oakland Tech and Cal alum seems to deliver at least as much punishment to would-be tacklers as they do to him. That could be problematic for the 49ers on Sunday night in Seattle. In their 34-28 win over Green Bay last Sunday, the 49ers - particularly in the secondary - missed several tackles.

Said Fangio: "He runs the ball extremely hard and he's got that misdirection and cutting and slashing ability that's a little unusual for a guy his size, so any arm tackle ... he can run through."

Brooks believes the Seahawks do a nice job of tailoring their running game to Lynch's style.

"The blocking scheme that they have fits very well for him," Brooks said. "It gives him an option to cut back, pretty much pick the gap he wants to cut in, and then he just runs from there."

Lynch ran for 1,204 yards in 2011 and 1,590 last season. He entered the league in 2007, the same season linebacker Patrick Willis debuted for the 49ers.

Willis has said Lynch engages in some trash-talking on occasion, not that it bothers Willis.

"It's a competitive thing," Willis said. "It's not like it's anything personal. It's football. It gets heated and words are exchanged, but once we put the helmets up ... we're cool."

Aldon Smith ("He doesn't talk to me that much") and Brooks ("I haven't really heard him say too much. He hasn't said anything to me") dispute the notion of a talkative Lynch on the field.

In fact, you get the sense Brooks wouldn't mind hearing from Lynch on Sunday evening.

"Anytime somebody gets riled up," Brooks said, "anytime that the trash-talking starts, it just gives us more fire to go out there and prove ourselves."

On Sunday, they'll try to prove themselves against Lynch, a back who's not incomparable - but close to it.

Briefly: The 49ers termed running back LaMichael James questionable for Sunday's game because of a knee injury. He's the only player listed on the injury report. ... Seattle cornerback Brandon Browner is doubtful for Sunday's game because of a hamstring injury. Defensive lineman Cliff Avril, also dealing with a hamstring problem, is expected to play. ... Niners coach Jim Harbaugh, on his relationship with Seattle head coach Pete Carroll: "I enjoy his company, very professional relationship. There are a lot of things made out to be what people make them out to be." ... Harbaugh performed the coin flip at his alma mater, Palo Alto High, on Friday night. The Vikings hosted San Benito.

Lynch vs. 49ers

How Marshawn Lynch fared against the 49ers in 2011 and 2012:

Date

Score

Car

Yds

Avg

TD

9/11/11

L 33-17

13

33

2.5

0

12/24/11

L 19-17

21

107

5.1

1

10/18/12

L 13-6

19

103

5.4

0

12/23/12

W 42-13

26

111

4.3

1

Brooks, Boldin, Matthews fined

Clay Matthews' late hit generated all the headlines, but the 49ers accrued more in fines in their season-opening 34-28 win against the Packers on Sunday.

Matthews, Green Bay's All-Pro outside linebacker, was docked $15,000 by the NFL for his personal-foul penalty on quarterback Colin Kaepernick during the second quarter. Meanwhile, 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was fined $12,750 for a roughing-the-passer penalty in the second quarter, and wide receiver Anquan Boldin was fined $7,875 for what the league deemed was a late hit on Packers cornerback Jarrett Bush in the third quarter.

Boldin was not called for a penalty on the play on which he hit Bush just after Kaepernick stepped out of bounds after a 15-yard run.

The NFL did not assess any fines to players who took part in the fracas that occurred after Matthews' hit on Kaepernick. Matthews delivered two shots to the face mask of 49ers left tackle Joe Staley, who was assessed an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty. NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino later said Staley shouldn't have been penalized.

Niners coach Jim Harbaugh, who was highly critical of Matthews on Monday, declined to comment on the fines: "At the direction of the league, I have nothing to say about that publicly."

Right guard Alex Boone, however, spoke his mind. How much would he have fined Matthews?

"Probably just punch him in the face," Boone said. 'I don't want his money."

Matthews' relatively modest $15,000 fine is probably a nod to his clean play during his four-year career. Matthews has been fined only twice before, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. In 2010, he was fined for a uniform violation ($5,000) and a face-mask penalty ($5,000).